Definitions

1. noun

A person, device, or thing capable of breaking bones, especially a mechanical device used in the past for capital punishment by breaking a person’s bones.

“The 19th-century hangman’s bonebreaker was a gruesome and often inhumane device.”

2. verb

To break bones, especially as a form of punishment or execution.

“In the medieval era, criminals were often bonebreaker to death as a form of capital punishment.”